Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2022
Perspectives of board-certified healthcare chaplains on challenges and adaptations in delivery of spiritual care in the COVID-19 era: Findings from an online survey.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges for healthcare systems to meet patients' and families' complex care needs, including spiritual care needs. Little data are available about spiritual care delivery in light of the pandemic. ⋯ Chaplains reported that COVID-19 challenges contributed to greater social isolation, and mental health concerns for patients, families, and healthcare staff, and substantially changed the way healthcare chaplains provided spiritual care. With evolving healthcare contexts, developing safer, more creative modes of spiritual care delivery while offering systematic support for chaplains can help meet the increasing psychosocial and spiritual needs of patients, families, and healthcare team members.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2022
A qualitative comparison of care home staff and palliative care specialists' experiences of providing end of life care to people living and dying with dementia in care homes in two countries: A focus group study.
Palliative care for people with dementia dying in care homes is an important aspect of long-term care. Whilst there is consensus about the principles of palliative care, less is known about how care home staff negotiate and influence decisions around end of life and how organisational context shapes that process. ⋯ In both countries, partnership working was recognised and valued as key to effective palliative care. Work that enables care home staff to identify challenges with visiting professionals, such as agreeing priorities for care and negotiating their shared responsibilities, may lead to context-sensitive, sustainable solutions.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2022
Using advance and emergency care plans during transfer decisions: A grounded theory interview study with care home staff.
Advance care planning has been identified as one of few modifiable factors that could reduce hospital transfers from care homes. Several types of documents may be used by patients and clinicians to record these plans. However, little is known about how plans are perceived and used by care home staff at the time of deterioration. ⋯ Written plans provide reassurance for care home staff, reducing concerns about personal and professional risk. However, care home staff have limited discretion to interpret plans and transfers may occur if plans are not specific enough for care home staff to use confidently.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2022
Palliative care physicians' motivations for models of practicing in the community: A qualitative descriptive study.
Internationally, both primary care providers and palliative care specialists are required to address palliative care needs of our communities. Clarity on the roles of primary and specialist-level palliative care providers is needed in order to improve access to care. This study examines how community-based palliative care physicians apply their roles as palliative care specialists, what motivates them, and the impact that has on how they practice. ⋯ The physician's personal or internal motivators were drivers in their practice style of takeover versus consultative palliative care models. Awareness of these motivations can aid our understanding of current models of care and help inform strategies to enhance consultative palliative care models.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2022
'There's this big fear around palliative care because it's connected to death and dying': A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of undergraduate students on the role of the speech and language therapist in palliative care.
Speech and language therapy in palliative care is a developing discipline of clinical practice. Research literature has highlighted that undergraduate palliative care education in speech and language therapy is inconsistent and inadequate. However, limited research has been carried out to date in relation to student speech and language therapists and palliative care. ⋯ A greater emphasis on palliative care is needed in undergraduate speech and language therapy education to ensure confidence and competency development. An exploration of student speech and language therapists' experiences in a specialist palliative care unit would be advantageous to determine the appropriateness of this setting for clinical placements.